


Secrets of the Skillet

by JCapasso



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:33:57
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23540140
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JCapasso/pseuds/JCapasso
Summary: When Lucifer claims to be 'so good at flipping men they call him the skillet' Dan is more than a little skeptical, so Lucifer makes a wager. If he can't 'flip' Dan then Dan can have the Corvette. And the satisfaction of beating him at something.
Relationships: Dan Espinoza/Lucifer Morningstar
Comments: 68
Kudos: 363





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm probably being overly paranoid by warning of potential dubcon, but here it is anyway.

Lucifer was intent on proving that he was not boring. That was the only interest this case held for him, so when there was an opportunity to get into a mixer full of interesting people, he made every effort to get there. “Okay fine, I’ll go. Seeing as I’m only interesting single person here I think I’m our one shot at catching the killer.” 

“Lucifer we’re looking for a guy,” Chloe pointed out. 

“Your point?” 

“Um…he’s a dude…and he’s straight,” Dan chimed in as though it should be obvious. 

“That’s never stopped me before, Daniel. I’m so good at flipping men they call me the skillet,” Lucifer said smugly even as Dan scoffed.

In the end, he didn’t get to go anyway, but when Daniel approached him later he realized that perhaps this case wouldn’t be a total loss. “You don’t really think you can ‘flip’ straight guys like that do you?” Dan asked incredulously. 

Lucifer looked him up and down and smirked. There was little he enjoyed more than tempting sinful desires from the straight-laced, and he’d just been handed a golden opportunity. Assuming he played this right. “A skeptic are you? How about a wager?” 

Dan rolled his eyes. “Please. Like you have anything I’d want that bad.” 

“Are you sure about that, Daniel?” he asked, pulling his car keys out of his pocket and dangling them in front of the burly detective. 

Dan’s eyes widened. “You’d seriously give me the Corvette?” he asked skeptically. 

“Only if I lose, Daniel, and you should know that I never break my word,” Lucifer challenged. 

Dan narrowed his eyes as he considered it. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t sometimes wonder what was so great about Lucifer’s sexual abilities. He definitely envied them. And that was a very hot car. The women he could get with a car like that…All he would have to do is endure a little attention from a man. He could do that. Probably. And he could always back out if it got to be too much. “What terms are you proposing?” 

Lucifer’s smirk widened. He had it now. “You spend one night with me and if you can honestly say you didn’t enjoy it and would never do it again, you get the car. And the satisfaction that you beat me,” he sweetened the pot. 

Dan scoffed. One night? Please. Lucifer really was too full of himself. Even if he were capable of being ‘flipped’ as Lucifer called it, it would definitely take more than one night. He had this one in the bag. “Deal,” he held out his hand to shake. 

Lucifer chuckled and shook on the deal. He didn’t bother asking for anything when he won. The satisfaction of winning was more than enough. “Once this case is over, come by the penthouse as soon as you get off work,” he told him before turning and sauntering away. 

The more Dan thought about it over the next couple days, the more he started to doubt what he was going to do. It wasn’t that he thought he might lose. It was more that he wasn’t sure he could go through with it. He definitely wanted to try though. If the car wasn’t enough of a perk, the idea of getting one over on Lucifer definitely was. 

Dan forced his nerves down as he showed up at the penthouse expecting a spectacle and surprised when there wasn’t one. There was just Lucifer, sitting smugly on the couch in his perfect suit with what was probably very expensive scotch in his hand, and Dan became even more determined to beat him at probably the only thing he ever would. Not that he would ever admit that out loud. “Okay. I’m here. Now what.” 

Lucifer smirked and got to his feet, walking slowly over to Dan and getting completely in his space. He reached up and ran the back of his knuckles down the shorter man’s face just to get his reaction and see the best place to start. There was a delicate art to this. Too far too fast and they would run. Too slow and they would get bored and have too much time to think. He couldn’t even use his gifts because what they desired wasn’t exactly him. This particular endeavor was all about reading people the old fashioned way, and Lucifer was very /very/ good at that. Especially when he had something to prove. 

The widening of Dan’s eyes and slight quickening of his breath as Lucifer touched him told the devil all he needed to know. “Now you just take a seat and let me take care of everything,” Lucifer breathed into his ear before stepping away. When Dan didn’t move, Lucifer smirked. He did enjoy a challenge. “It’s not too late to back out, Daniel,” he challenged. “You’ll just forfeit your prize.” He knew that by using the words he did it would stoke the man’s competitive nature. 

That got Dan moving and he went and plopped down on the couch after a glare at Lucifer. “I’m not backing out,” he said firmly. 

“Good,” Lucifer purred as he quickly moved over and knelt in front of him. Seducing a man was very different than seducing a woman. The first thing he needed to do was to get the little brain doing the thinking. “Then close your eyes and just relax,” Lucifer encouraged as he ran both of his hands firmly up from Dan’s knees to his crotch. He heard Dan gulp and saw him close his eyes, just as Lucifer reached his target. 

The devil wasted no time undoing the burly detective’s pants and pulling out his cock that was just starting to take an interest and he licked along the large vein on the underside before giving a quick suck to the head as a hand reached down to fondle his balls. It didn’t take long for Lucifer’s expert mouth to have Dan fully hard, so Lucifer knew it was safe to pull Dan’s pants down enough to get better access. It only took the slightest nudge for him to lift his hips and allow it and Lucifer hummed in satisfaction around the dick in his mouth. 

He made full use of his skills with his entire mouth, and when he took the detective down to the root and swallowed around the length that was pressing against the back of his throat, the needy whimper that tore from Dan pulled a moan from Lucifer as well. He was very careful not to get him too close to the edge though. Not yet. There was more to do first. Once he felt a hand fist tightly in his hair, he knew it was time for the next step. This was another place where his skills in reading people came in handy and he had an edge with this one. He knew Dan better than the other man thought he did. He knew that Dan got off on control. Domination. And he knew exactly how to play on that. 

He pulled off Dan’s cock with a pop, to say, “You like that hmm?” He licked at his balls as Dan panted for breath, clearly trying not to answer, but his reactions were answer enough. “Even from me,” he gave a short suck to the head, swirling his tongue around it. “You want to punish me don’t you? For everything you think I’ve done to you. For being everything you’re not.” Dan’s hand tightened in Lucifer’s hair in a way that would have been more than a little painful for a human. Lucifer took him all the way down and swallowed around him again, before releasing with a pop. “Then feel free to punish me, Daniel,” he drawled. 

Dan yanked Lucifer’s face back to his cock and shoved himself down the jerk’s throat, loving both the physical feeling of Lucifer choking around it and the satisfaction of making him choke. Lucifer, of course, did it on purpose. He never would have choked if he hadn’t wanted to. Dan’s grip on Lucifer’s hair tightened even more as he yanked his head around like a rag doll, fucking his mouth. Lucifer still managed to use his teeth and tongue enough to keep Dan on the edge and when he felt the man about to cum, he used his hand to choke it off, pulling a growl from him. 

Lucifer used the distraction to empty his mouth long enough to tease, “Now, now. There are other ways to punish me first you know.” Dan tackled Lucifer onto the floor and Lucifer pretended to fight just enough to keep Dan going as he was maneuvered onto his stomach and his pants were yanked down. Lucifer had already undone them so it would be easier for him to do that, knowing exactly what was going to happen. 

When Lucifer felt the rough entrance he moaned, forcing as much pain as pleasure into his voice as Dan slammed into him. He reached down to take his own cock in his hands, knowing that they weren’t to that point just yet for Dan to touch him and he wanted to cum too. Dan’s strong hands wrapped around his hips yanking with every thrust as Lucifer stroked himself along with them, Dan’s grunting moans turning him on nearly as much as the feeling of being fucked. When he felt Dan getting close, he let himself cum, wanting the other man to feel Lucifer’s ass milking his orgasm from him and sure enough, just as he started to cum, he felt Dan explode inside him. 

As soon as Dan was spent, he scrambled back, and fell to his ass on the floor. “Fuck,” he panted. 

Lucifer smirked and picked himself up, pulling his pants up for ease of movement but not buttoning them or redoing his belt, as he sat on the couch. “Yes. We did,” he drawled. 

Dan hastily got to his feet and did his pants back up as he said, “Yeah. Well. Just because I did that doesn’t mean I’m ‘flipped’ so you lose.”

Lucifer shook his head theatrically. “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,” he chastised. “The deal was for the night. We’re just getting started.” Dan’s eyes widened as he realized that Lucifer was right about the terms of the deal. “Unless, of course, you’ve changed your mind and wish to back out. You’re perfectly free to leave anytime you like.” Dan gulped but shook his head. He’d come too far now to back out.


	2. Chapter 2

“Fine,” Dan sighed. “So what now?” 

Lucifer smirked. “Now we move this to the bedroom,” he waggled his eyebrows and got up, waiting for Dan to follow him. He could have pulled him along, but coming willingly was an important part of this. Especially for someone who craved control. By the time Dan followed him a few minutes later, Lucifer was lounging on the bed with his hands behind his head and he looked over and raised an eyebrow before patting the bed next to him. 

Dan sighed and gingerly sat on the bed, but didn’t lie down. “Dude, you can’t possibly be ready to go again already,” he said incredulously, eyes trailing down to the bulge in Lucifer’s undone pants. 

“Oh, Daniel,” he chuckled condescendingly. “I’m /always/ ready to go. I do understand though that the average person doesn’t possess my divine stamina. That’s what foreplay is for,” he explained as he pulled Dan over and into a hard kiss. 

It took a moment for Dan to respond and when he did, he attempted to take control of the kiss. Lucifer didn’t give in so easily, but did allow the detective to gain some ground in the battle for dominance, using the distraction to unbutton his own shirt, knowing that if he didn’t he would be losing buttons sooner or later. Once his preventative actions were taken, his hands went to roaming Dan’s body and when they slid under his shirt and up towards his chest, Dan broke the kiss long enough to pin his hands over his head. 

Lucifer’s eyes lit up with delight at the action, mostly because in order to get a good angle to pin his hands, Dan had to straddle him and hadn’t even noticed yet. Lucifer gave enough of a struggle and a whimper to draw Dan’s attention back to the matter at hand before he started thinking too much and then Dan was kissing him again. Starting it himself this time. Lucifer writhed beneath him, mostly but not entirely playacting, as Dan bit Lucifer’s lip before moving to do the same to his jaw and neck. Lucifer could tell that it was as more passion as anything else since he was sure that Daniel could do some damage with those bites if he wanted to, but he wasn’t. When he felt Dan’s hips grinding down against his own and his hands were switched to be held in one of the detective’s whose other hand moved down and yanked his shirt open, Lucifer knew that he had won this bet. Not that he intended to point it out before he got his money’s worth so to speak. 

When Lucifer felt the teeth and tongue moving over his shoulders, he knew that it was time to get this show on the road. He knew the chances of him getting a blowjob tonight were slim to none, and if he let Dan get too close he would more than likely freak out. With Dan’s new exploration, the hand that was holding Lucifer’s was loose enough for him to move without any struggle as it seemed to have been forgotten about, so Lucifer’s hands went to the front of Dan’s pants. Once he got them undone and Dan’s hard cock pulled out, that spurred him into action. Dan moved off of Lucifer and yanked the devil’s pants down and off before doing the same to his own and stripping his sweaty shirt off in the process. Once he returned to the bed, he tried to flip Lucifer over again, but Lucifer had other ideas this time. 

Lucifer was the one to flip Dan over onto his back and before any protest could be uttered, he lowered himself onto Dan’s leaking erection. Doing this face to face, when Dan could see him and his reactions was the next step. He knew that it was taking some of Dan’s control away, but he was leaving him enough to keep him interested. He still had full control over his hands which were now on Lucifer’s hips giving him the illusion of moving Lucifer where he wanted him. Lucifer’s hands went to Dan’s chest, partially for leverage as he rode him and partially so that he could flick the detective’s nipples which always got a moan and a particularly hard thrust. 

Lucifer was dragging this one out a little more. Always changing his rhythm anytime he felt Dan getting too close. Once the other man was nearly incoherent with need, Lucifer grabbed one of the hands from his hip and moved it to his cock. He had been riding the sweet spot for about twenty minutes now and desperately wanted some attention. He let out a whimpering moan when Dan’s hand wrapped around his length without prompting, though it took a few thrusts into his hand before he started stroking. It would have ended almost immediately after that, but Lucifer had iron self control when he chose to use it and held both himself and Dan back from the edge for a little while longer. He wanted the detective to get the full experience before it ended. 

Lucifer’s control ended when he heard a ragged, “Fuck, Lucifer…please…” from the man beneath him and he picked up his pace enough to get them both off in under a minute and he could feel the pulsing inside him even as his own cum spurted up Dan’s chest, some even making it as far as the headboard and a little bit landing in Dan’s hair and face. Once they were both spent, Lucifer stayed sitting there for a moment as they both tried to catch their breath. 

When Dan realized that his hand was still on Lucifer’s hip and worse that his thumb was rubbing back and forth over Lucifer’s silky skin, he tried to save face by using the hand to push Lucifer to the side as he said, “Get off me, man.” It didn’t come across as vehement as he’d wanted though. 

Lucifer just chuckled, doing as he was asked and plopping onto his back next to Dan. When he saw Dan try to wipe at the cum on his chest with a half grossed out and half curious look on his face, he suggested, “It’s probably time for the shower portion of the evening, you think?” 

“I’m guessing I won’t be showering alone?” Dan said trying for a weary tone, but not quite making it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Lucifer to join him or not. 

“That’s up to you,” Lucifer told him. He had no problems with Dan taking a bit to himself to come to terms with all this. He’d won anyway. Anything else was just the icing on top. Not to mention it was his shower. He could take one later. It wasn’t as if he was the one half covered in cum. 

“Then, yeah. I’ll shower alone,” Dan said getting up and heading to the bathroom. He needed some space for a while. He didn’t end up doing any actual washing in the shower, though he did rinse off very well. Mostly he just stood there under the water as his mind wandered. The main thought in his head was that the bastard had won. Apparently there really wasn’t anything that Lucifer couldn’t do and that irritated him to no end. Not only had he gotten the best blow job of his life, but he’d fucked Lucifer twice now, and jacked him off, and he’d liked it. He wanted more even. He was falling under Lucifer’s spell and he had no idea how to stop it or even if he wanted to. 

After a rather long shower, Dan came out of the bathroom and stopped short. Lucifer was lounging back on the bed, half sitting up, still naked from the waist down, black silk shirt hanging open and partially off his shoulders, with a glass of scotch in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The most amazing part to Dan though was the impressive erection that he was once again sporting. How was that kind of stamina even possible? After a moment of perusal, Lucifer gestured to the other side table, “I poured you a glass as well.” 

“Th-thanks,” Dan said, finally moving again as he headed over. He hesitated as he passed his clothes, but if Lucifer wasn’t bothering to get dressed, it would probably be pretty awkward if he did, so he continued to the bed and sat down gingerly, grabbing the drink and draining it in one go. As he turned around, he found Lucifer with the bottle offering a refill, so he nodded. This time he just sipped his drink like Lucifer was. “Is there a ‘next’ portion of the evening?” Dan asked after a few minutes, seeing as Lucifer seemed to have everything planned and he was more than a little unsure of himself at the moment. 

“Mmm,” Lucifer mumbled around his mouthful of scotch before he swallowed. “You could say that. Now is the part where you are free to touch and explore all you wish,” Lucifer chuckled, holding his arms open to emphasize what he meant. 

Dan looked Lucifer up and down nervously. This would be more than heat of the moment responses to Lucifer’s actions. This would be full initiation on his part. “I-I’m not sure…”

“It’s okay. I won’t judge you for anything. You have my word,” Lucifer coaxed reaching out and taking Dan’s non-drink hand and moving it to his leg, just above the knee so that he wasn’t forcing anything, just emphasizing the invitation. He’d noticed Dan’s almost caress of his hip earlier and wanted him to see and experience that it was okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There should only be one more chapter of their night together before the story moves on.


	3. Chapter 3

After a moment’s hesitation, Dan started running his hand over Lucifer’s thigh, shifting around to get a better angle as Lucifer puffed on his cigarette. Dan moved his hand up over Lucifer’s hip and to his stomach, avoiding the erection pressing against it. At least for now. His hand continued up over Lucifer’s chest, tracing over the lean muscles and stopping to flick his nipples, pulling a hiss of pleasure from Lucifer as his cock twitched. That reaction started getting Dan’s blood flowing downward again too as he continued exploring over Lucifer’s chest and shoulders. 

At Dan’s prompting nudge, Lucifer put his drink down and leaned forward to remove his shirt, and Dan’s hand continued over his shoulders. Before he could sit back again, he felt the fingers approaching the scars on his back and Lucifer spun, catching Dan’s wrist. “Not there,” he said breathlessly. “Please.” 

Dan’s breath hitched as he saw a hint of vulnerability in Lucifer’s eyes. He’d never seen anything like that before from him. He nodded, and Lucifer let his wrist go and leaned back against the headboard again and the vulnerability was gone. Just like that. Dan knew it didn’t work like that. That kind of thing didn’t just disappear that quickly and he found himself wondering how much of the Lucifer he knew was just a series of masks that hid his true self. “What happened?” Dan asked sympathetically. 

Lucifer was internally cursing himself for that reaction. He didn’t even know why he had it. It wasn’t like Dan would have been the first lover to have touched his scars. Most of them did at some point, even if it wasn’t usually intentional. Dan was different though. Maybe it was because he was a part of his life outside of sex. He was almost even a friend. He’d had the same knee jerk reaction when Chloe had tried to touch them before too. It took him a second to realize that Dan had asked a question and he just said, “It’s a long story.” 

Dan knew that Lucifer wanted to drop it, but he didn’t. He wanted another glimpse of the real Lucifer. The hidden one. He wracked his brain for some way to extend this conversation and remembered Chloe mentioning something once about his father hurting him. “Does it have anything to do with why you hate your father so much?” he asked. 

Lucifer snorted as he took another sip of his drink. “You could say that.” Dan caught a quick glimpse of bitterness, before that was covered up too. “But we’re not here to discuss my dysfunctional family, now are we?” Lucifer drawled charmingly putting out his cigarette and setting down his drink before turning to face Dan. Dan realized that was definitely the end of that conversation when Lucifer reached out to start trailing his hand over Dan’s body as well. Lucifer had made one big mistake though, even if he wouldn’t realize it for a while. He had clued Dan in on the fact that he wasn’t what he seemed, and Dan was a detective for a reason. Chloe may have given up on figuring him out, but Dan had no intention of doing so. He knew when not to push though, so he let it go for now. 

Lucifer moved closer to Dan so that they were almost touching as he ran his hand over Dan’s side and hip and down his leg while Dan’s hand moved around to trail over Lucifer’s ass, a blush spreading over his cheeks as he did. Lucifer just gave a satisfied smirk at the action which gave Dan a little more courage. When Dan’s hand came back around and wrapped around Lucifer’s cock the devil gave a moan and thrust into his grip which was the last straw Dan needed to get fully hard himself. A few minutes later, Lucifer moved again and Dan couldn’t fit his hand between them anymore but now the feeling of their erections sliding together took all of his attention. Dan wrapped his legs around Lucifer’s legs to get better leverage for more friction as their juices mingled and coated both of them, and it was Lucifer’s turn for the oral exploration as he kissed and nipped and sucked his way over Dan’s neck and shoulders. Dan knew he wasn’t going to get off like this. Not after having already gotten off twice tonight. That didn’t mean it didn’t feel amazing though, and he whimpered when it ended and Lucifer moved away. 

“Shh,” Lucifer whispered, pressing a quick hard kiss to Dan’s lips. “Much more left to experience, tiger,” he drawled as he pressed Dan onto his back and trailed his mouth down his chest, pausing to lather a bit of attention on one nipple and then the other, experimenting to see what types of sensation made the detective hotter. He continued down over his stomach, making a show of cleaning up all the precum that was spread there and by the time he took Dan’s dick in his mouth, he was writhing and moaning. 

Once he had Dan good and distracted, Lucifer grabbed the lube and slathered his fingers in it. He knew better than to ever try and take a virgin ass unprepared. He could take it. Dan couldn’t. Dan didn’t realize what was happening until he felt a finger prodding at his entrance and he shifted uncomfortably. “Don’t…” he gasped out. 

Lucifer stopped and moved his hand away. He may push boundaries sometimes, but a clear request to stop was /always/ obeyed. That didn’t mean he couldn’t talk about it a bit though. He moved his mouth from Dan’s cock to say. “If you really don’t want to, then I won’t, but I think if you give it a chance you’ll like it.” 

Dan was waffling a bit. Lucifer hadn’t steered him wrong so far. Still… “I don’t know…”

“How about we just try one finger for now, and if you don’t like it, I’ll drop it for good and it won’t count against you for the bet, okay?” he asked and waited for a clear nod from Dan before returning to his ministrations. Dan’s erection hadn’t faded a bit in the less than a minute they’d been discussing it, but Lucifer still took a minute to get him good and worked up again before he moved his hand back to his ass and slid a finger inside. He felt Dan squirm a bit, but then he found the sweet spot, pulling a gasp from the detective and it was only a few seconds before he was pressing down on Lucifer’s finger for more. Once he was ready, Lucifer emptied his mouth long enough to ask, “Keep going?” 

“Fuck…yes…” Dan gasped, and hissed in both pleasure and pain when he felt a second finger slide in. Lucifer finished prepping him as thoroughly and quickly as he could, before sliding back up his body and positioning his cock at Dan’s tight hole. 

“I’ll go slow,” he promised as he started sliding in. Dan almost stopped him at first when the pain hit, but there was enough pleasure in it that he held back, and the hand stroking his cock helped that decision too. It was nearly a minute before Lucifer stilled with a moan. “Mmm. All in,” he panted, stroking Dan’s cock and giving him a chance to get used to the feeling, making sure that he was pressed against the sweet spot as he did. 

When Dan shifted beneath him with a moan, Lucifer knew he was good to move but kept it slow for a good long while, angling each thrust just right to turn Dan into a mass of whimpers and moans. As Lucifer picked up the pace, he moved Dan’s legs up over his shoulders, his own moans joining the symphony as he pounded into him, continuing to stroke his cock in time with his thrusts. “Oh…shit…L-Lucifer…” Dan gasped out as he felt himself getting close and he spilled over Lucifer’s hand just after that as Lucifer let out a choked moan as his own orgasm was milked from him as well. 

Lucifer took a minute to catch his breath before pulling out and falling to the bed, next to Dan. “See, I told you you’d like it,” he said smugly. 

“Yeah yeah. Keep your damn car,” Dan said resignedly. Lucifer let out a barking laugh at that. “Look, man, I know we said all night and all, but I’m tired. I don’t think I have any more in me.” 

Lucifer chuckled. “By all means then. Feel free to sleep. You can make up the deficit some other time,” he joked mostly to give Dan an excuse to come back if he wanted to. 

“What, sleep here?” Dan asked turning to look at Lucifer in surprise. 

Lucifer shrugged. “Why not? If you’re that tired, you probably shouldn’t be driving anyway,” he pointed out. 

“Do people often stay the night here?” Dan asked curiously, wondering if this was just a Lucifer thing. 

“Always,” Lucifer told him. “It’s rather rude to bang and run after all.” Dan huffed a laugh. Yep. Just a Lucifer thing. One night stands usually left. “I’m gonna jump in the shower. You can join me if you want,” he said rolling out of bed and heading for the bathroom. 

Dan hesitated a minute before realizing that he was covered in cum again and at least needed to rinse off. He had no intention of going around smelling like Lucifer though so he was just going to rinse, and he was in and out quickly while Lucifer lingered a little longer. By the time Lucifer came out, Dan was fast asleep in his bed.


	4. Chapter 4

Dan partially woke up about halfway through the night to find himself draped over Lucifer with his head resting on his chest and Lucifer’s arm around him. He was going to move away but he was back asleep before he could fully finish the thought. The next time he woke up, he was in bed alone. He stretched and got up, putting his clothes back on before he headed out of the room. He stopped short at the sight of Lucifer sitting at his desk with books and folders spread around him. “Good morning,” Lucifer chirped. “There’s a plate of breakfast in the microwave keeping warm if you’re hungry.” 

“What is it?” Dan asked, undecided on the idea. 

“Ham and avocado omelets and crispy proscuitto with avocado salad toast,” Lucifer told him, not looking up from what he was doing. 

“Sounds fancy,” Dan said with a chuckle as he headed to the microwave. 

Lucifer laughed. “It only takes about fifteen minutes to make.” 

“What are you doing?” Dan asked curiously as he sat down to eat. 

“Payroll. The last few cases have been rather time consuming so I’m a bit behind,” Lucifer told him, as he finished the one he was working on and sat back rubbing his eyes. “But I’m about due for a break.” 

“Dude, it’s like eight am. How long have you been working on it?” Dan asked skeptically. 

“About four hours or so,” Lucifer told him, refilling his drink and grabbing some of the spare toast from the counter for a snack. 

“Did you sleep at all?” Dan asked. 

“I don’t need as much sleep as the average human,” Lucifer chuckled. “Though I like to sleep more when I can.” 

“I can understand that,” Dan said amusedly. He was starting to realize that Lucifer worked far more than any of them thought. He was also starting to understand why he helped so little with paperwork at the station. He had plenty of his own to do. It wasn’t technically part of his job as a consultant anyway. He finished eating and went to put his plate in the sink as he said, “Breakfast was good, man. Thanks. Um…is there a back way out of here?” 

Lucifer laughed and nodded. “The A level on the elevator leads to the alley. It’s easier to go out through the club though.” The only parking in the alley was the entrance to his personal garage and he knew Dan wasn’t parked there. 

“Yeah, like I need people seeing me sneak out of here this early in the morning,” Dan scoffed. 

Lucifer shook his head. “People are used to seeing anyone and everyone in and out at all hours. The detective has been here this early and earlier more than once. On the off chance anyone does notice they’ll just assume that you came by for something police related.” 

Dan considered that for a moment. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He started to head to the elevator but stopped before he got there. “Hey man, I know it probably goes without saying, but uh…this thing here…”

“Mums the word, Daniel. Not to worry. I can be discreet.” Dan nodded and left and Lucifer set to cleaning up the breakfast dishes before getting back to work. 

Back at the station Monday morning, Lucifer couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the way Dan was acting around him. He was intentionally standing as far away as possible, avoiding looking at him, and just being weird in general. After lunch, Lucifer had enough and dragged him into an empty office. “What are you doing?” Dan asked in a hiss, looking around out the windows. 

“Oh for crying out loud. We’re just two colleagues having a conversation,” Lucifer said amusedly. “But if you keep acting like a skittish mouse around me, people are going to start asking why. I mean, I don’t particularly care if people find out, despite my reputation taking a bit of a dip at my lack of standards, but I know you wanted to keep it secret.” 

Dan rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Very funny.” 

“That’s better,” Lucifer said clapping his hand to Dan’s arm. “Now let’s go try to be a little more normal huh?” Thankfully that worked and Dan was back to his usual self, even around Lucifer. The devil could spot a bit of extra tension when he stood too close, but most people wouldn’t, which was why he took great pleasure in standing close as much as possible. 

Dan spent the next couple weeks observing Lucifer as much as possible. So much so that Chloe approached him. “What’s your problem with Lucifer now?” she asked. 

“What do you mean?” Dan asked, trying to play it cool. 

“You keep watching him like you’re trying to find some new dirt on him or something,” she said suspiciously. 

“No,” Dan shook his head. “Not exactly, anyway. It just…dawned on me recently that he’s…not really what he pretends to be…”

“Dan…” Chloe interrupted him wearily. 

“I don’t mean in a bad way,” Dan assured her. “I just mean…the whole playboy persona…it’s just an act. I’m trying to figure him out.” 

“Why?” Chloe asked. 

Dan considered very carefully how to answer that question. “A lot of reasons. For one thing it’s kind of a kick in the professional pride that I’ve missed that for so long. I thought I was a good detective. Plus, he’s your friend and spending more time with my daughter like playing monopoly and who even knows what else. It’s only right that I try and get a better read on the guy.” 

Chloe sighed and nodded. She couldn’t fault him for that. “Don’t feel bad about not noticing. He’s a very good actor,” she told him. “Sometimes I have trouble seeing it and we work together almost constantly.”

Dan wanted to say something about how much extra work he did that she didn’t know about, but stopped himself. He had no way to explain having that information. He had come close enough to blowing it just by trying not to get her mad at him. “I wonder why he does it though,” Dan said casually. 

“I’m not sure. I have some theories though.”

“Care to share?” Dan asked. 

“The little bit I know about his family isn’t good. His brother Amenadiel tried to give me an explanation about Lucifer once and most of it was a load of crap, but the one part I do believe is that they had a very difficult childhood and that Lucifer created a persona for himself to hide from that.”

Dan nodded. It was all starting to make sense. The scars and how Lucifer was so sensitive about them. The act he put on all the time and how he was able to do it so flawlessly. If it had been a part of him for that long it wasn’t surprising. He was starting to realize just how messed up Lucifer was and the same part of him that drew him to the job of being a detective was drawing him to trying to help Lucifer. “Is there more to that theory?” Dan asked curiously. 

“Not really,” Chloe said with a shrug. “He gets very closed off if you even get close to personal with him. He’s a master at deflection,” she huffed a laugh. 

“Yeah, that much I know,” Dan scoffed. 

“He’s really okay, though,” she assured him. “Around Trixie and around me. I wouldn’t let him around her if I didn’t trust him.” 

“I know,” Dan told her. “That’s why I haven’t made an issue of it. Doesn’t stop me trying to figure him out though.” 

Chloe laughed. “Join the club. And I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the president.”

Dan chuckled and nodded and Chloe headed back to her desk to rescue her plant from Lucifer’s flask. That night after work, Dan headed to Lux. Not necessarily to see Lucifer. Just to have a few drinks. When he got there, he heard the piano instead of the regular music and was confused. He didn’t come here very often, but when he did they were playing normal music. He went over and noticed Lucifer at the piano while half the people in the place watched him adoringly and the other half just went on about their business. 

Dan went and grabbed a drink from the bar and found a seat where he could watch, but not necessarily be noticed. The little glimpse he got showed that Lucifer’s masks were down…or at least on low. Lucifer played about five songs that Dan was there for and sang about half of them, and Dan was able to get a much better idea about who Lucifer really was. And why he liked music so much. It was his outlet. Probably the only time he could be his real self and get his emotions out. He was still lost in thought when he was interrupted by a cheerful, “Daniel! So nice to see you.” 

“Lucifer,” Dan looked up, startled. “Hey.”

“Were you here to talk to me or just have fun?” he asked curiously, the only indication that Dan had of what he meant was the slight flicker of his eyes upward when he suggested talking. 

“There is something I needed to talk to you about. About work, you know,” he said, trying his best not to blush. 

“Of course,” Lucifer said. “Let’s go somewhere quieter shall we?”


	5. Chapter 5

Once they were upstairs, Lucifer hooked two fingers in Dan’s belt loops and pulled him against him. “Now that we’re alone…did you really want to talk or do more interesting things with our mouths,” Lucifer drawled. 

Dan answered by grabbing the front of his jacket and yanking him into a kiss and Lucifer chuckled into it but kissed him back, already tugging at Dan’s shirt to remove it. Dan moved his hands to the buttons on Lucifer’s shirt and started undoing them once his own shirt was shed as he backed the devil towards the bedroom. 

“Mmm. Eager are we?” Lucifer asked amusedly, making it clear that he wasn’t complaining by the hands already undoing Dan’s pants. 

“You’re one to talk,” Dan chuckled, trying not to be embarrassed by the remark as he shoved Lucifer’s shirt and jacket off. 

“Oh, I’m always eager cowboy,” Lucifer teased as the back of his knees hit the bed and he toppled into it. 

“I can see that,” Dan replied, eyeing the bulge in Lucifer’s pants as he started undoing them. Once they were undressed Dan climbed on the bed, following Lucifer to the head of it and knelt between his legs, leaning over him for a dominating kiss as their erections rubbed together and they both moaned into the kiss. When Dan’s lips and teeth and tongue started moving down Lucifer’s neck, the devil ran his hands over Dan’s body, using them to drive him crazy. 

When Dan’s lips closed around Lucifer’s nipple, sucking and biting at the same time, Lucifer arched up off the bed with a needy whine causing Dan to pay quite a bit more attention to that part of his anatomy. It wasn’t until he started moving lower that Lucifer started to suspect what was coming, though he was rather surprised. It usually took a little longer to get to that point if he got to it at all before losing interest. He didn’t expect anything great, but certainly wasn’t going to discourage the practice. He wasn’t completely wrong. It was better than he expected. It wasn’t anything special though. Dan pulled his lips off Lucifer’s cock long enough to ask for lube which the devil quickly handed him. 

It took Dan a minute to find the sweet spot but he knew he found it when he felt Lucifer’s cock jump in his mouth as a stuttered moan pulled from his throat. Due to Lucifer’s frequent activity, it didn’t take long at all for Dan to be pumping three fingers into him, and he slid back up Lucifer’s body and started fucking him. “Somebody’s learned some new tricks,” Lucifer teased breathlessly, not expecting a response and not getting one. 

It was a few minutes and Lucifer was starting to get impatient and about to do some prompting before Dan’s hand found it’s way to his cock and started stroking. Lucifer pulled Dan in for a kiss, and it wasn’t long before they were both spilling over, Lucifer only because he could tell Dan was close so he allowed himself to. Once they were spent, Dan collapsed half on top of Lucifer, panting for breath. 

After a few minutes, Dan moved away a bit and got to the other reason he was here. Cracking Lucifer’s shell. “You all caught up with Lux now?” he asked conversationally. 

“For the most part,” Lucifer told him, not sure why he was so interested all of a sudden, but seeing no harm in the conversation. “Still a bit behind on the books, but not bad. Ran into an old friend of a sort last night, so didn’t get much work done.” 

“Why don’t you hire someone to help you with it?” he asked curiously. 

“Because if I do it myself, I know it’s done right,” Lucifer said with a shrug. 

“So you don’t trust anyone else?” Dan asked incredulously. 

“Well I trust Mazikeen, but she quit quite a while ago. Wanted her own life separate from me or something of the sort.” 

“She’s the only person you trust. At all,” Dan asked pointedly. 

“She’s the only person I trust with Lux. I trust many people to some degree, but this club is my home. Why the sudden interest?” Lucifer asked, starting to get uncomfortable with the conversation. 

“No reason,” Dan said with a shrug. “I was just thinking how much work it must be to run a place like this and work at the station at the same time.” 

Lucifer laughed. “It’s still far less stressful than running hell.”

Dan rolled his eyes. “Right. Because you’re the devil,” he scoffed. 

“Why is that so hard for people to believe?” Lucifer asked amusedly, despite knowing the answer. 

“Maybe because you’re far from evil,” Dan responded just as amused. 

Lucifer had thought he knew the answer anyway. “Do what?” 

“The devil is the embodiment of evil. You’re not at all evil. Which means you can’t be the devil,” Dan said pointedly. 

“And what if you’re wrong?” Lucifer asked seriously. 

“About which one?” 

“Either. Both.”

“Then I’d need some proof,” Dan said with a shrug. 

Lucifer snorted. Of course he wanted proof. Everyone always wanted proof. He just couldn’t give it right now. Not unless he showed his wings, but the wings weren’t him. Not anymore. They hadn’t been for a long time. He wasn’t sure if he wanted Dan to know the truth anyway, so he just let it go and turned his attention back to the task at hand. 

Lucifer reached out and ran his hand down Dan’s side. “So…Daniel…are you ready to take the training wheels off?” 

Dan’s eyes lit up with excitement, but also a little bit of nerves. “It won’t involve car batteries will it?” 

Lucifer laughed. “Not unless you want it to, sexy.” 

“Then yeah. Let’s go,” Dan challenged. The next three hours were spent in the most enjoyable and intense lessons Dan had ever had in his life. He didn’t have the slightest doubt anymore about how Lucifer could so easily entice anyone into his bed. He was more surprised that anyone ever left. 

The next morning, Lucifer was still sleeping when Dan woke up and he was glad it was still early enough for him to head home and change before work, so he slipped out and did just that. Things continued that way for a few months with Dan showing up at Lux once every few weeks. He managed to get a little more conversation out of Lucifer each time and felt like he was finally getting a look behind those masks. It wasn’t until Chloe started dating Pierce and he didn’t even feel the slightest twinge of jealousy that it dawned on him that he was actually falling for Lucifer. How the hell could he let that happen? 

He, more than most, knew that Lucifer didn’t do relationships, and he had a better idea of why than most too. Lucifer didn’t trust people. Ever. Not enough for a relationship. Barely enough for friendships. It wasn’t that surprising given the suspicions about his family, but it still made falling for him a very bad idea. Most people would have thought that the constant parade traipsing through his bedroom was the reason. That he just didn’t want to give that up, but Dan knew better. His trust issues were the reason for his promiscuity. It was a barrier to keep anyone from getting close enough to hurt him, and he wasn’t sure that anyone was capable of getting through that barrier, let alone him. 

His knowledge that his feelings were a bad idea didn’t stop him from being more than a little worried when Lucifer stopped sleeping, which was why he went straight to the penthouse when he got to the club that night once he saw that Lucifer wasn’t there. He didn’t know if Lucifer had ‘company’ or not, but he just had to make sure he was okay. When he got up there, Lucifer was at the piano, but the state of the penthouse made him worry even more. Lucifer wasn’t exactly into ‘neat freak’ territory, but he was usually cleaner than this…disaster. Once Lucifer noticed him, his face lit up in a grin. “Daniel!” he said cheerfully. “Nice of you to stop by.” 

When Lucifer got up and tried to pull him into a kiss, Dan turned his head and stepped away. “Not tonight, Lucifer.” 

Lucifer pouted. “Why not?”

“Because I’m worried about you, man. You’re not sleeping, you’re snapping at people, you’re making mistakes that aren’t like you. What’s going on?” 

“You wouldn’t understand,” Lucifer tried to brush him off. 

“Then help me understand,” Dan prompted. “You know you can’t keep going on like this. If nothing else you need to sleep.” 

“I can’t!” Lucifer snapped, throwing his glass across the room. 

Dan raised an eyebrow. This was more serious than he thought. Lucifer never lost it like that, especially over something so minor. He grabbed Lucifer’s hands and pulled him over to the couch, clearing off a place for them to sit. “Why not?” Dan asked worriedly. 

“You won’t understand,” Lucifer said again, but apparently decided to at least try this time. “It’s my wings…they’re back…my father…he’s manipulating me, making me do things that I would never do!” he said on the verge of hysteria. 

“Okay, so I’m not the best at figuring out your metaphors, but from what I understand you’re worried about something or someone manipulating you as you sleep, right?” 

“Close enough,” Lucifer agreed. 

“Then easy solution. You go to bed. Get some sleep. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on you. If I see anyone or anything out of the ordinary, I’ll wake you up.” 

“You can’t be expected to stay up all night just to watch me,” Lucifer scoffed. 

“Better one night for me than night…what? Seven? Eight?” 

“Ten,” Lucifer admitted. 

“Night ten for you,” Dan said. 

“And then what? We just alternate nights sleeping?” Lucifer asked incredulously. 

“If we have to, then yes. Hopefully once you get a good night’s sleep we’ll have a better chance of figuring this all out,” Dan said. 

“You would actually do that?” Lucifer asked confused. “For me?” 

“For…For all of us,” Dan said only stumbling a little bit. He couldn’t exactly admit the truth. “We need you on your A-game out there.”

“Right,” Lucifer scoffed. 

“Come on,” Dan said getting up and pulling Lucifer to his feet. “Bed. Sleep.” 

Lucifer sighed but followed him and even allowed himself to be put to bed. “You’ll be here?” 

Dan could hear the vulnerability in Lucifer’s voice and knowing that it was so out of character hurt, just as much as the trust Lucifer was placing in him warmed him. “I promise,” he said seriously. Lucifer was asleep moments later.


	6. Chapter 6

After the first hour of watching Lucifer sleep, Dan wished he had a book to read or something. He did pull out his phone to play some games, stealing Lucifer’s charger from next to his bed a couple hours later. He caught himself almost dozing off once or twice, but managed to keep himself awake. Lucifer was actually extending him a lot of trust. He wasn’t going to risk breaking it. By the time morning came he was exhausted and wishing he could sleep instead of going to work, but he knew he couldn’t. He couldn’t bring himself to wake Lucifer up either though and leaving while he was sleeping was just as bad of an idea. He decided that while he couldn’t skip work, being late wouldn’t be too bad, so he texted Chloe and let her know and asked her to tell Pierce. 

She, of course, immediately texted back asking why he didn’t just call Pierce. Dan ended up having to tell her that he couldn’t talk right now, and didn’t really want to text the boss with something like this. That ended up turning into an interrogation and he fobbed her off with the ‘it’s a long story’ excuse. He didn’t know how to explain that he and Lucifer were close enough for him to be trusted with something like this without the big secret coming out. Well one of the big secrets anyway. 

It was after ten when Lucifer woke up and immediately and frantically looked around the room. Dan rushed over and put a hand on his shoulder to try and calm him. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re good.”

“Nothing…happened?” he asked nervously. 

“Nope. Nothing at all strange and I watched all night,” Dan assured him. 

Lucifer could tell by the bags under Dan’s eyes that he was telling the truth so he sighed in relief. When he looked at the clock he had to do a double take. “You’re late for work.”

“I know. I let them know I would be. I didn’t want to wake you up and I definitely didn’t want to leave while you were still sleeping.” 

“Thank you,” Lucifer said quietly, obviously touched. 

Dan grinned and couldn’t resist giving him a quick kiss. “Anytime, Luc.” Lucifer’s lips twitched in almost a smile at the nickname. “Now if you’re feeling up to it, the warrant for the masquerade place should be in any time now.” 

“Right. Yes,” Lucifer got up and headed for the shower. When he came out ten minutes later, completely naked and headed to the closet Dan felt no shame in ogling him even as he finally got to see the not nearly as complex as he expected ritual of choosing clothes. Apparently it really was a talent of Lucifer’s because he put next to no effort into it, only dithering over shirts for about ten seconds before choosing one. Another five minute trip to the bathroom for hair product after he was dressed and he was ready to go. 

As soon as he got off work that night, he went home and crashed, sleeping a full fourteen hours before his alarm woke him up for work. Once he got there he realized that Lucifer’s issue wasn’t solved. He wasn’t nearly as bad as he had been a couple days ago, but Dan could tell he hadn’t slept last night, which was why Dan headed to Lux after work that night. “Okay, your turn to sleep,” he said as he got up to the penthouse. 

“You’re serious?” Lucifer asked incredulously. 

“Absolutely.”

“I was joking about alternating nights to sleep, Daniel.” 

“I wasn’t,” Dan said already pulling Lucifer towards the bedroom. “You need sleep too, and if the only way you can manage to sleep right now is for someone to be watching over you then that’s what we’ll do, so you can either let me do it or we can get someone else over here…”

“No,” Lucifer said quickly. He didn’t even like Dan seeing him like this, but anyone else would be much worse. 

“Okay, then go to sleep,” Dan prompted, leaning over for a kiss before heading to the chair, trying to ignore the feelings washing over him at Lucifer’s vehemence that no one else take his place. The implication that he was the only one Lucifer trusted. 

“Don’t be late for work tomorrow,” Lucifer mumbled as he fell asleep moments later. 

The next morning, Lucifer wasn’t awake by the time Dan needed to get ready to go, so he went over and sat at the edge of the bed and reached out a hand to Lucifer’s shoulder. “Luc, wake up.” 

“Hmm?” Lucifer creaked an eye open. 

“I need to head to work. You were good all night and you shouldn’t have any problems if you need to sleep a few more hours, but I at least wanted to let you know I was leaving. 

“Yep. I’m up,” Lucifer said sitting up. 

Dan sighed when he realized that Lucifer didn’t intend on sleeping any longer, but there wasn’t much he could do about it. Besides, it wasn’t like Lucifer could catch up on a week and a half of sleep in one night anyway. He wasn’t even thinking when he kissed Lucifer as he left and it didn’t dawn on him what he’d done until he was halfway down the elevator and he was kicking himself. He was getting far too comfortable. 

Between the bags under his eyes and his distraction, he was soon corralled by Chloe. “Are you okay? You look like you haven’t been sleeping. Please tell me you’re not going to pull a Lucifer.”

Dan laughed and shook his head. “No, nothing like that. I’m fine. Just had a rough night is all.” 

“Uh-huh,” she said skeptically. “I don’t have time to go into this right now. I was just about to text Lucifer to meet me at a crime scene, but we’ll talk later, okay?” 

“There’s really nothing to talk about,” Dan assured her as she left. He hoped that whatever Lucifer was going through was resolved soon or it would end up getting them both in trouble. 

Dan, once again, slept from the time he got home until his alarm went off for work the next morning. He was relieved to see that Lucifer looked a lot more put together today, but it was the afternoon before he had a chance to corner him alone. “You look better,” Dan said leadingly. 

“Why thank you gorgeous. You don’t look so bad yourself,” he drawled teasingly. 

Dan shook his head. “You know what I mean.”

“Yes, the issue has been resolved. No need for you to play nursemaid anymore,” Lucifer told him.

“Okay, good. I mean, I’m glad that you’re doing better. I don’t mind helping you out though,” he rushed to clarify. 

“You don’t mind going without sleep because I’m acting like a child?” Lucifer scoffed. 

“No, Lucifer, I don’t. Because I know that you don’t act like that for no reason. Just because I don’t understand the reason doesn’t change that.” 

Lucifer blinked at him for a moment. “Well…thank you,” he said hesitantly. 

Dan worried that he may have let on too much there, so walked it back as best he could, by clapping Lucifer on the arm and saying, “Anytime, man. That’s what friends are for right?” as he walked off. 

“Right,” Lucifer drew out the word confusedly despite no one being there. Lucifer got back to work…and making snide comments about Pierce who had apparently broken Chloe’s heart and now was trying to worm his way back in. He was surprised that he wasn’t that upset about it, but he’d tried to warn Chloe. She was the one who didn’t listen. Even Dan knew that he didn’t do stuff like that for no reason apparently. 

A few nights later, Dan was at Lucifer’s and they were well into their fun when they were interrupted by a voice calling out. “Lucifer are you here? We got a new lead…Oh! My! God!” 

As soon as Dan heard her voice he had scrambled off Lucifer and started grabbing for his clothes, trying to get to the bathroom to hide, but apparently Chloe just walked right into Lucifer’s bedroom whenever she wanted and caught him bending down to pick up his pants. “Chloe! It-it’s not what you think…”

Lucifer snorted. “I don’t think she’s going to buy that one, Daniel.” Especially given that Lucifer was still laying there completely naked too, and not really making any effort to cover up. “And detective? I can assure you that my father has nothing to do with this.” 

“This is…you…and you…I don’t…how long…” Chloe stammered. 

Lucifer looked at Dan, allowing him to answer the question if he wanted. He was the one who wanted to keep them secret after all and if Lucifer answered it would be with the truth. It seemed that it was beyond Dan though because he just stammered, “I…uh…”

“You’re sleeping with my partner, Dan!” she yelled. “Is this just some ploy to get close to me again?! Are you using him to get information on me?! I thought we were past all this!” 

“That’s not it, okay,” Dan tried to placate her. 

“Then what is it, Dan? What other reason could you possibly have for sleeping with Lucifer of all people?” 

“Because I love him okay?!” Dan snapped and all three people in the room froze in shock, including Dan. He hadn’t meant to say that. 

“Y-you what?” Lucifer asked wide-eyed, snapping his head around to look at Dan like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Chloe managed to pick her jaw up off the floor as she said. “Yeah…I’m just…gonna go…I’ll take care of this lead by myself…you two just…yeah,” she turned and walked out.


	7. Chapter 7

Chloe was almost to the elevator when Lucifer called after her to wait. He came out of the room, hopping into his pants and grabbed his shirt from the piano where it had been thrown. “I’ll come with you. I’m your partner. It’s my job. It’s too risky to go by yourself.” 

Chloe sighed and nodded, holding the elevator for him. Once it reached the ground, he was finishing buttoning his shirt up. “You’re really just going to leave him up there after that?” she asked incredulously as they got into her car. 

“Believe me, detective. Of all the potential responses I could have to that, this one is by far the best for all of us,” Lucifer said in a faraway voice. 

“Are you okay?” she asked worriedly. 

“I don’t know.”

“Do you…care about him?” 

“I really don’t want to talk about it.” 

“Okay,” she said as they lapsed into an uncomfortable silence. She couldn’t help but feel bad for Dan though. And sorry for her part in it. If she hadn’t barged in like that…if she hadn’t started throwing around accusations…It just seemed like another one of Dan’s stupid ideas to win her back. He’d had a lot of them over the years, and had even tried something similar once. Sleeping with her best friend to both get information and make her jealous. 

“You mentioned a lead?” Lucifer asked tightly. 

“Yeah. The dancer’s partner Miguel,” she said as she explained what had brought them to that conclusion. In the end it was a good thing he came because things did go to hell, but they got it handled eventually and when Chloe dropped him back off she said, “You really should talk to Dan, you know. Even if he doesn’t like what you have to say.” 

Lucifer didn’t respond and just got out of the car and headed upstairs, not sure if he was relieved or not to find the penthouse empty. When Lucifer finished off the scotch, he considered going downstairs to get some more before deciding against it and just switching to bourbon instead. He managed to pass out for about three hours before he had to be up and at the precinct. It was a Friday so he had an early day at least, which was a good thing because things were more than a little awkward. 

Dan wouldn’t even look at him and Chloe kept giving them both sympathetic looks as she played go-between. “They’re fighting again huh?” Ella asked at one point. 

“Something like that,” Chloe told her. 

“Should have known those two couldn’t manage to get along for long,” Ella said amusedly. 

“Right,” Chloe said distractedly. 

While Lucifer still left at the normal time, he skipped his therapy appointment that day and just went straight home to hit the bottle again. He couldn’t even think right now. Too much was going through his head. It was just after noon on Sunday, when Lucifer finally got his head somewhat straight and headed for Dan’s house. 

Dan opened the door and his eyes widened when he saw Lucifer standing there, looking more than a little disheveled. His shirt was half undone, his eyes were bloodshot, and his hair was standing up all over the place. “Hey,” Dan said after a moment of no response from Lucifer. 

“We should talk,” Lucifer said. 

Dan nodded and opened the door all the way to let Lucifer in. “You want a drink or something? Not that you look like you need any more,” he chuckled. 

Lucifer just shook his head and sat on the couch, not even looking around despite having never been here before. Dan sighed and sat next to him, not sure what to say. He figured since Lucifer came here to talk that it would be up to him to start it. Lucifer looked at him for a long moment before he said, “Do you know that no one has ever said that to me before?”

“Really?” Dan asked surprised and more than a little sad.

“I mean, occasionally someone will pop out with it in the middle of fun times but not like they mean it. Like they…”

“Actually love you?” Dan finished when it was clear that Lucifer wasn’t going to. 

“Yeah,” Lucifer said with a weary sigh. 

“What about your family? Not even they ever told you that?” 

Lucifer laughed harshly. “Right. Me? The screw-up? The rebellious one? No. They were too busy treating me like trash to bother caring.” 

Dan was starting to realize the issue here and despite the fact that it scared the hell out of him and he knew that this could go very bad, after hearing that he didn’t feel like he had a choice. He reached out and took both of Lucifer’s hands in his. “Well /I/ care,” he said. “I-I love you.” He deserved to hear those words, directed to him and not yelled in desperation, at least once in his life. 

Lucifer snatched his hands away and got up, pacing and running a hand through his hair. “You don’t know me, Daniel. Not really. You don’t know who I am. What I am.” 

“It doesn’t matter, Lucifer,” Dan said. “I know the important things. I /want/ to know it all, but I’m not going to try to force you to tell me. I’m not even asking for you to do anything with this. I just…need you to know that you are loved.” 

Lucifer sighed and stopped pacing, facing away from Dan, unable to look at him for his reaction as he unfurled his wings. “I /am/ the devil, Daniel,” he said quietly. 

Dan gasped at the sight and blinked in shock for a good minute. When he saw Lucifer’s shoulder’s slump and the wings start to fold up, he quickly said, “No, wait!” He got up and walked over to Lucifer in his line of sight. “Just…give me a minute to process here, Luc.” 

Lucifer looked at him confused, almost daring to have a little bit of hope when his nickname fell from Dan’s lips. Dan walked a circle around Lucifer, taking it all in before reaching out to touch one of the wings which shuddered under his hand. “So I was wrong,” he whispered almost in awe. “The devil isn’t evil after all.” 

“You don’t know the things I’ve done,” Lucifer said hauntedly. 

“It doesn’t matter,” Dan told him again. “I know who you are. Either you’ve changed from the person you were or you had good reasons for the things that you did. I don’t know which and I don’t need to know, though I would like to know if you want to talk about it, but it’s not really important.” 

“Daniel…I…” Lucifer tried to speak, but couldn’t find words. 

Dan moved back in front of Lucifer. “I love you, Lucifer. I don’t need you to do or say anything with that. I just need you to know it. To understand.” 

“I-I can’t,” Lucifer said completely baffled. 

“Can’t what?” Dan asked. 

“Can’t understand,” Lucifer clarified. “I don’t…I’m the devil…How…

“Just because other people couldn’t or wouldn’t love you, doesn’t mean I’m the same,” Dan told him. “I can’t understand how anyone could /not/ love you.” 

“I…” Lucifer tried again to speak, but this time when he couldn’t he moved a hand to Dan’s cheek and the other to his waist and pulled him in for a kiss. Unlike all the other kisses they’d shared in the past, this one was soft and slow. It spoke of hope and love and new beginnings. It said everything that Lucifer couldn’t put into words and Dan completely understood it all.


End file.
